Soldiers
by Yoonggi
Summary: Cripple, another term for the quirkless in the modern day society of people with quirks. Izuku Midoriya is a quirkless boy, bullied throughout his childhood. In hopes to fulfill his dream, the young boy enlists in the Dark Horse program. Quirkless individuals that have been harboring feelings of justice and heroism are finally given the chance to become 'heroes'. [Back in Action]
1. Chapter 1

A:N/ Hello there, this is my take on an alternate route that could've happen back when the series started. I always wondered back then about the possibility of Deku joining the military instead of inheriting All-Might's quirk. I also wondered back then what happened to the military of Japan when Heroes and Police took over the enforcement. Correct me if I'm wrong, but term military is non-existent in the headcanon of Boku No Hero Academia.

So... Here's my take on an alternate path Deku would take.

Edit: This is the second version of the story, I've posted this earlier and I just wanted to edit out a few errors and misspells that I saw.

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Ambition

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Izuku Midoriya was born quirkless. The timid and unassuming boy grew up idolizing All-Might and various other heroes that he sees on television. The starry-eyed boy squealed with glee whenever he would see his heroes flying across the skies or jumping from platform to platform, it made the young boy grow increasingly impatient to find out what kind of quirk he would possess one day.

The dream of becoming a hero was easily shattered when, during a trip to the doctor, a young Izuku was told that he was quirkless. A quirkless human born into a society filled to the brim with people having quirks. Izuku was distraught, he felt so weak and inferior compared to his peers who developed their own quirks.

"You don't have a quirk?" those words echoed through his young mind, delivering the finishing blow of his and Katsuki's rocky friendship. Something that he never thought would happen. Without a friend, bullied and mistreated because he didn't have a quirk, the young Izuku turned his back against the world.

Up until his fateful encounter with All-Might, the once fleeting spark that he had roared back into life, he was given hope by All-Might.

"You can be a hero." Those words alone shook him back into living his life the way he wanted to. He was never given a quirk, but even so, All-Might's words were comfort that he took to heart.

He fought and clawed his way through hardships. Izuku desperately sought for advice from numerous heroes, all of them trying to let him down easy, telling him that being quirkless immediately eliminates any possibility of him being able to sign up to become a hero.

"Honey, it's alright, you can be my own hero. You don't need to go out there and save the world, you can just help those around you." His mother still cheered him on. Inko, the woman who'd nurtured him and brought him up to be this young man that he is today. He held onto her words, trying his best to be a community helper while on his last year of middle school.

"Give it up, stupid fucking Deku. You're never going to be a hero." Cold words that stabbed Izuku on the chest upon a bad fight with Katsuki, the violent teenager grinning from ear to ear as he provoked Izuku, shoving him down and lighting up Izuku's treasured notebooks.

"Give them back…" Izuku growled, powerless and frustrated. Katsuki spat on the burnt notebook before kicking it towards Izuku, boring holes into the eyes of a weakling like him.

Izuku felt the anger boiling inside him as they days grew by. The powerless young man was constantly harassed and taunted, he even thought about ending it one day, but All-Might's words to him kept him going. He kept pushing through the pain and tears, the torment that he endured was all worth it if he could prove them all wrong.

Come graduation day of middle school, Izuku looked on wistfully at the numerous students that would go to U.A. He envied them, a dark flower blooming in his heart as he felt the world was playing a horrible joke on him. Subjected to further pressures and torment, the young man took a stroll by the bridge, sitting comfortably on the soft grass.

"How can I be a hero… When I'm quirkless?" he asked out into the open blue of the waters, he realized he was screaming at the top of his lungs in frustration. All the anger built up over the years, all of them came flooding out as he cried so hard. It was a soul-crushing sight for anyone to see, Inko had come to fetch him at the police station after he was reported by bystanders.

"Izuku… Let's go home." She hugged her son and kissed the top of his head. Maybe it was because of his upbringing that Izuku felt this way. Inko felt guilty that he never acquired any of his parents' quirks. Seeing her son being constantly harassed, and his plea to her that he didn't want to transfer schools all because the school he attended back then was a prep-school for students wanting to be heroes.

"Why is the world so unfair." The young man muttered under his breath, covered by the tear-stained sheets of his bed.

He walked aimlessly down to a dark path. He no longer believed in anything, it was all because he was quirkless. It was hard to accept, but to society… He was but a mere cripple.

"Cripple." Taunted Katsuki as he mocked Izuku when he passed the exams for U.A He dangled his admittance letter in front of the other boy, looking at him like a predator would look on his prey.

"Don't call me **that**." Izuku growled, balling up his fists on his sides and clenching his teeth. Katsuki didn't stop then, the boy had no sympathy for anyone that wasn't on his 'level' his arrogance and ego further fueled his enjoyment in tormenting Izuku.

"You should just jump off a building. Maybe in the next life you'll have a quirk. Fucking **cripple.** " That was the last straw for Izuku. He didn't care if he would win or lose. All that he wanted to do right then was make Katsuki feel all the pain that he felt from the years of torment.

"Too slow, **cripple**." Katsuki swung a huge right hook towards Izuku's side, sending the boy staggering. He then ran up to Izuku, grabbing him by the arm before slamming him down hard onto the ground.

No one helped cripples. No one out of the numerous bystanders would dare fight a violent boy like Katsuki. Izuku looked amongst the crowd while he was down on his back, all of them looking at him with pity. Izuku squeezed the dirt in his palm slowly stood up, a menacing air surrounded him while Katsuki turned around with a grin on his face.

"The fuck do you think you can do, **cripple?** You think you can fight me-" in a blink of an eye, Izuku used the dirt from the ground to blind Katsuki, a dirty tactic that bought him time. Raking in some dirt from the ground, Izuku was still dodging Katsuki's heavy punches.

"YOU THINK I WANTED TO BE BORN WITHOUT A QUIRK!?" Izuku yelled, weaving another punch from Katsuki, the dirt that he gathered up earlier was still clamped on his hand.

"FUCKING DIRTY RAT, YOU WON'T AMOUNT TO ANTHING YOU FUCKING LOSER!" in a last-ditch effort to even the odds, Izuku smeared the most dirt from his hand onto Katsuki's rendering his sweat-glycerin quirk from being unable to ignite. It wasn't a clean job though, Katsuki broke Izuku's hand in the process of their trade for blows.

Izuku was bruised, he bled from a cut under his eye and his right hand was already broken. This was his last move, anything after this would be him trying to defend himself. Katsuki was still unable to use his quirk, the dirt that had been smeared on his hands blocked the sweat glands from his hands. He readied both of his fists, raising them up and looking at Izuku with murderous intent.

"I'll show you your fucking place, **cripple**." He charged at Izuku and swung a punch, Izuku who predicted it luckily weaved away, using the last of his strength to get a clean uppercut onto Katsuki, knocking the other boy down.

The bystanders that watched were stunned. Izuku was heaving for breath, the cut from earlier had bled more leaving a grisly sight for the on-lookers. There was a man amongst the crowd who broke up the fight. The man was bulky, had a black bandana on his head and wore a trench coat that hid his ripped body. The man eyed at both of the boys, tending to Izuku first.

"Here kid, lemme help you out." He said, leading Izuku to a nearby fountain to wash off. Katsuki was still on his back, looking at the sky with an unreadable expression on his face.

'Knocked down by a cripple, huh.' He thought, looking around at the disappearing crowd to see Izuku with the older man. He got up on his feet and trudged towards the other boy.

"You… You fucking loser… Why would you still fight when you have nothing to gain…?" Katsuki muttered, Izuku looked at him straight on as they both stared down.

"I… Had nothing to lose." That earned him Katsuki's respect. The blonde teen finally understood his ex-childhood friend.

'So this is what it feels like…' he thought through the throbbing spot on his jaw that Izuku had left. One last look towards Izuku before he left, he finally acknowledged his former friend.

"You got guts, Izuku." He said, nodding before silently taking his leave.

The raw emotion from the fight drained Izuku. Takeshi, the older man whom watched over Izuku patted the young boy on the shoulder, helping him apply the gauze for Izuku's cut. They both sat down at some of the tables at the convenience store, drinking soda.

"You're quirkless?" asked Takeshi, Izuku wordlessly nodded and gripped his cold drink harder. Takeshi laughed at the young man, earning him a glare from Izuku who felt offended.

"If you're just going to laugh at me, then I should just leave."

"No wait! I'm also quirkless, I'm laughing because this is the first time in a while that I've seen a quirkless person like me." He admitted, Izuku noticed something on Takeshi's trenchcoat, a shiny piece of metal that glinted from the light that gently grazed upon it.

"You have potential kid!" Takeshi said, seeing Izuku's eyes that scanned through his coat. He took out his badge and showed it off to the young boy.

"JGSDF?" Izuku asked, looking at Takeshi for answers.

"Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. I'm the last of my kind, a dying breed." Takeshi replied sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a soldier. One of the last remaining operatives that's still deployable and active." Japan Ground Self-Defense Force was part of the Japanese military. Heroes weren't part of the military, but they had the law by their sides.

"Soldiers… That hold guns and killed people…" Izuku muttered in fear, remembering the history lessons that they had back then. Takeshi took no offense to the boy's initial fear, it's true that they held guns and killed people, but it was kill or be killed in those situations.

"I fight, so that everyone I love could live happily while admiring the heroes that don't do the killing. Knowing that they can live a life without worry as the heroes protect them. I fight the battles that heroes won't. That is what it means to be a 'soldier'."

Uncredited, disgusted upon, those are the views towards soldiers in their modern society. Soldiers like Takeshi were viewed as nothing more as relics of the past, a group or warmongers as they were accused.

"I'm quirkless. I'm disposable and can easily be replaced, kid. But I fight and I'll fight the battles that are fought where anyone could get killed. Why? Because someone has to do it heroes can only put villains to jail for petty crimes."

In their history books, it was said that the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force was one of the last remaining branches of their military. The police were bigger than the military in their age because they needed to regulate the heroes more. What happened to old soldiers like Takeshi?

Left in the shadows…

That was the moment Izuku realized that he was like Takeshi, viewed by the world as cripples.

'Then I'll fight too. With or without a quirk.'

This was the beginning of the story, of how a quirkless boy became a soldier. A soldier whom would fight in the front lines, putting themselves in the line of fire from the guns of the enemy.

\- Initializing Project Dark Horse -

~ End

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A:N/ Takeshi or Knuckleduster is a character I've adopted from the spin off series of Boku No Hero Academia, Vigilante's. He's a character that I grew fond off because there was something about him that gave off the vibes that he was a former soldier. I built upon that idea and here we are now with this story. It would be a long and drawn out one, but I hope this would inspire more readers to write stories based off of Deku still being quirkless.


	2. Chapter 2

A:N/ Wow I didn't think that this story would get plenty of hits already. Anywho, just would want to point this out, Deku's character here is somewhat more 'Confident' compared to the Deku in the beginning of the series. I believed that it's alright to do so since his personality would eventually hardened after being rejected to apply to become a hero.

Extra note: I refer all the characters here by their first names, I was somewhat unsure at first how to refer to them, but I eventually decided that using their first names was better instead of their family names. Also I would like to point out that guns are next-to-outlawed in this story. I don't like the idea of guns in the story since it felt like it was too 'unnecessary' to include them.

Last note: I will try to update weekly or as much as possible, anyone willing to help me out with the story is welcomed. Thanks again readers!

* * *

Drafted

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April 16th 2014

Izuku stood in front of a wire-mesh gate with his bag slung over his shoulder. The young man looked around and saw the boot camp facility of JGSDF. He felt a heavy hand pat on his shoulder, Takeshi had formally taken him under his wing after getting him approved through the medical requirements and aptitude test. Inko was hesitant at first, but Takeshi reassured her that Izuku can leave anytime he would want to.

After getting registered through the office, the pair then walked down the dirt path, Izuku seeing his fellow trainees there lined up. Some looking at him with a confused stare, some looking at him as if he's lost and a few others looked at him as if he's a piece of meat left in a den of wolves.

"Line up, Brats." Yelled out Sir Nighteye, the tall lanky man who wore glasses and had a piercing stare, the man then hollered over Takeshi as the two men introduced themselves to the trainees.

"Welcome to the Dark Horse program. I'm Sergeant Major Takeshi Kuroiwa, I will be your instructor as part of this program and alongside me is Sir Nighteye, All-Might's former sidekick. Both of us will be your instructors and mentors, alongside to teach you all are some heroes that the government would assign."

"Any questions?" glared Nighteye amongst the crowd of teenagers. A blonde teenager raised his hand and eagerly asked a question, Mirio Togata, as read on his commissioned name tag.

"Sir! Can we still apply here even if we have quirks?" the question confused Izuku, he felt a little bit offended that someone who could qualify to be a hero enlisted for this program. He shook away the thought and tried to listen to the two men instead.

"This program accepts both the quirkless and quirk-users. We will train you kids to be part of a special force that would aid the heroes in times of emergencies." Takeshi answered in a friendly tone towards Mirio.

"We've recently gotten approval by the government, so this means that for the time being, most of the facilities here aren't fixed up yet. You brats are part of a program wherein you can qualify to be a hero even if you are quirkless. Trainees will all receive the same training, and on your graduation day, you all are given special licenses to become active heroes when needed." Nighteye saw the numerous glints of hope in the eyes of the trainees.

'Good. Finally we can give these hopefuls a chance.' He recalled bargaining to the higher ups and to the heroes agency to support this program in order to help out the heroes in cases of emergencies.

The offer alone surprised Izuku. At first he thought that this program was supposed to be a boot camp, he felt relieved and excited that they are given this opportunity.

Izuku raised his hand and asked a question that's on the back of his head.

"But sir! How can the quirkless hopeful-heroes keep up with the villains with quirks?"

Guns had been banned in Japan ever since the government had deemed them too 'primitive' opting to convert resources as used to further developed gadgets. Heroes now weren't the only ones able to acquire government-approved gadgets. Takeshi smirked at Izuku, a smart question that he'll gladly answer as he took out his 'knuckle dusters' when given approval by Sir Nighteye.

Takeshi wore a simple looking brass knuckle set, however upon a closer glance, the brass knuckles can store kinetic energy and eventually be able to release a full-impact punch that can easily shatter brick walls. The crowd cheered while Izuku instinctively took down notes of the gadget, it fascinated him as he looked eagerly at Nighteye's gadget, hoping that he would show his.

"Show-off…" muttered Nighteye, taking out what looks to be ordinary paperweight stamps used by business men, hurling one of the stamps towards a target practice, the ordinary looking stamp stuck onto the target and blinked a red light, sending a signal towards Nighteye's wrist watch.

"Stamp-trackers, these are my gadgets of choice." He said, re-adjusting his glasses as the crowd went wild with chatter.

The introduction of the trainees were next, Izuku was next to Mirio when the class were asked if anyone had quirks, out of the twenty-four trainees, four of them were quirk-users.

"Koichi Haimawari sir!" a young man with spiky black hair and a lithe figure saluted in front of the crowd.

"Alright, your quirk is?" Nighteye asked whilst holding onto his clipboard and eyeing the boy, Koichi dropped down on all fours as the crowd of trainees looked at him with confusion.

"Slide and Glide as I call it, sir!"

Takeshi scratched his chin and muttered a few curses, so the government was giving them the rejects… Rejects or 'Unconventional' quirks, are a group of quirks that are classified by the government as unfit or awaiting for further approval. Usually these quirks involve the non-flashy movement quirks or simply camouflaging quirks.

"Alright, next!"

A female, she had a carefree personality and a mischievous smirk on her face. Takeshi and Nighteye then waited for her to use her quirk.

"Kazuho Haneyama sir!" she saluted, before jumping off on a few sandbags that laid around. She leapt high into the air and did a somersault before safely landing back down on the ground.

"Blast Jump! I can jump off of any solid surfaces and my quirk allows me to land down safely sir!" her quirk proved to be useful as the two men acknowledged, however the flaw is that Kazuho was lacking the control to use her quirk to its full potential.

"Alright, who else?" asked the Takeshi, right next was Mirio Togata, the young man flashed everyone a smile before running full speed towards the barracks. Everyone thought that he was either crazy or trying to pull off a stupid stunt.

"The fuck is the boy trying to do?" Nighteye glared at Mirio who had come out of the wall, butt naked while using his free hand to cover his privates.

"Permeation sir! I can sink to the ground and go through walls!" the whole class was laughing at Mirio, Nighteye sighed and threw Mirio's discarded clothes, yelling at the boy to get changed quickly.

"And the last one?" Takeshi looked over to a boy with red hair the young man had a grin on his face as he hardened his body, smashing his hand onto some planks of wood, easily breaking them in half.

"Eijiro Kirishima, sir!" he yelled out. Takeshi liked the boy's spirit, looking all determined. He was particularly fond of brawlers.

The rest of the trainee introduction went on without a hitch. Everyone got settled into their respective quarters, the boys and girls were also separated. Izuku looked around at the barracks this small band of trainees would also become his friends and allies one day.

"Hey!" Eijiro called out to him, Izuku looked over to see the other boy looking curiously at his notebook.

"Would you like to see them?" he offered. Eijiro was a friendly guy compared to the various jerks and bullies that swarmed Izuku in his last school. The other teen smiled as he flipped constantly at the notes, noticing the small details and drawings that Izuku had made over the years.

"Man this is like a textbook! Look at this! It's so detailed, damn I'm impressed." He laughed, pointing out the other little things that he noticed from the gadgets used earlier by Takeshi and Nighteye.

"We should go to the mess hall soon, dinner's starting." Izuku noticed the time and the both agreed to sit down to eat together. Once they arrived at the mess hall, they saw Koichi and Mirio hanging out by themselves on an empty table. It was a wonder why no one would eat with them. Izuku and Eijiro decided that they would try and befriend the two.

"Hey, why're you guys sitting here away from them?" Eijiro asked Koichi gave an uneasy laugh and said that they'd been given the cold shoulder after finding out that they had quirks.

"Well don't worry about them. I'm sure they'll come around." Izuku said, setting down his plate to eat along with the three quirk users. It didn't bother him at all that he was surrounded by friends who had quirks, he even quizzed them and asked things about their quirks.

Dinner went by quickly, small casual banters between the four guys and nonetheless, Izuku was right. Eventually, the other quirkless guys sat down and ate their food with them. They moved the tables together, lining them up to form a big table enough for all of the guys to eat and sit down with. Takeshi and Nighteye observed from afar as they recalled their days as trainees, these lucky trainees were given the chance that they never had back then.

"Takeshi… About that boy that you personally picked yourself." Nighteye mentioned Izuku, looking from afar as the young boy chatted away with his newfound comrades.

"What about him?"

"Why did you pick that boy? That Kirishima kid seems to have been the more logical choice for you to bring in here. I was surprised when you brought that boy here."

"The kid has guts, met him while I was passing by, the kid got into a huge fight with this other kid with a flashy quirk." Takeshi recalled the fight that broke out between Izuku and Katsuki about a week ago. Nighteye seemed perplexed, arching an eyebrow when Izuku showed off his notebook that held the various notes and tips that he collectively gathered through the years of observing heroes and their quirks.

"The kid's crafty, Nighteye." Takeshi pointed out, recalling the tactic that Izuku used to defend himself from the onslaught of Katsuki's attacks. "With formal training and guidance, I'm sure that kid would turn out pretty well." Nighteye nodded, agreeing that Izuku was a smart one compared to the others that would often just run away from a fight.

"You think these Hopefuls would make it far?" Takeshi asked seriously, concerned for the hopes of the trainees there. The government had issued them to be some-sort of military school, opting that the two instructors would nurture the kids while also teaching alongside heroes who are experts in various other fields.

"As I said before, these kids are the Dark Horses of the hero world." Nighteye looked at them fondly, all the smiles and camaraderie that they established amongst themselves. "I believe in these kids. They can take on the hardships, all these rejects finally found a place to belong to. You'll see, they aren't the type to just easily let people walk on over their dream after being given the chance."

~ End

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A:N/ How was it? Did you enjoyed it? Please tell me if did so, as it really helps me in picking out which ideas work and which do not. So... You might be wondering why I also used Mirio, Koichi, Kazuho and Eijiro in this story correct?

Well I thought about using OC's at the beginning of this story, but then I realized that it was too clunky of an idea, so I scrapped it. Then I came up with an idea that the term 'rejects' are quirks that have next to nothing use. I thought about it back then at the start of the series since I noticed back then that there are quirks that are somewhat awkward and unconventional to use, which is why I used those characters with those quirks here. Most of the class in Deku's batch would be nameless, I don't feel the need to emphasize them or build characters around them.

The next chapter would be their training period, again, I will not dabble onto those nameless characters. I would focus on building Deku's character alongside the other quirk users. Thanks again for finishing the read! See you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A:N/ Hey there I'm back! Wow thanks for the follows and hits guys! I'm really glad that this story is steadily growing. Also, I'd like to say that I'm also back from updating my other stories here, so please check them out as well if you have the time. Writing for you people really makes my day xD hope I can improve the quality more.

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Courage

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While out on a field operation tasked by the heroes who were involved, Takeshi grunted in pain as he received another blow from the opponent in front of him. He was in no way prepared to face a villain with such technique and experience, the villain in question that he was sent after to intercept was none other than the hero-killer, Stain.

Takeshi spat out blood, leaning on a lamp post as he waited for the villain to strike. No heroes were coming, it made Takeshi's feet buckle down, realizing that this was the end. The villain cackled with laughter, his crazed demonic red eyes gleamed beneath the moonlight. Stain, hauling a huge rack of swords on his shoulders, glared at Takeshi.

Stain shot him a dirty look and scoffed "You're on the verge of death, yet why do you insist on enforcing me your ideals?"

Takeshi grinned, as they were at an open field now. The mission he was given to earlier was urgent, he had to accept regardless of his equipment since his superiors had bounded him with a contract that he would be at their beckoning whenever they would call for him. He reluctantly agreed, sensing the imminent danger.

He was right.

Stain sat on a bench, allowing for Takeshi to recover from his injuries.

"Out of all the heroes that I've put away… You're the first and only quirkless one I've encountered." Stain had a different look, questioning Takeshi and his motives. No sane man would dare fight someone with a dangerous quirk like his, so why would the hero agency send someone with no quirk?

Takeshi spat, disrespected by Stain's words. "I've no words for you, a murderer rampant by his ego and bloodlust."

"Tell me, **Cripple** … Why you? Amongst the plentiful of heroes more capable, be the one to be sent to me to fend for yourself without backup?" Stain further pressed on with his questioning, not minding that Takeshi was adopting his stance to ready for combat.

Takeshi smiled at his words, he was always reminded that he was quirkless. Back then, it was also his dream to become a hero, despite not having the qualifications for it. Charging up his knuckle-dusters, the man wiped some blood that dribbled down the side of his lip, eyeing cautiously at Stain.

"Why do you insist on fighting the inevitable?" Stain further asked, by the minute his curiosity was killing him. The previous memories he had from the heroes whom were all selfish and unjust were fogging up his judgement with Takeshi.

Takeshi raked back his sweaty hair and readied his weapons, vigilant at any moment to strike. Stain stood up from his spot and readied his rack of swords, all thirty of them. He hauled the massive rack and threw it up it the air, a multitude of swords stabbing the ground as they landed. 'Keep Out' Tapes enclosed them in a large area, no one can get in and can get out now.

With one katana on his hand, Stain had a serious look on his face. Takeshi was unfazed, this would not deter the spirit of a battle-hardened soldier like him. No matter the odds, he'd face against it and try his best to win.

'I only need to buy time…' he mentally resigned to himself, he was in no condition to fight. The man recalled earlier the conversation that he had with Nighteye, who foresaw his imminent death against the villain that he was being tasked to intercept.

*Flashback*

"Takeshi. I'm warning you, do not accept this mission. You cannot win against this foe." Nighteye argued whilst looking through the details given to Takeshi by the higher-ups.

"I'm in no place to refuse, Nighteye. They've called for me. I must answer." Takeshi took one more longing glance at his previous students who were all busy training. Izuku was all smiles while doing some laps along the track field with Eijiro and Mirio.

Nighteye placed a hand on his shoulder "So it's like this, huh? We're still disposable in the eyes of the hero agencies?" he asked, looking at Takeshi with a grim expression on his face.

Takeshi puffed his chest and grinned towards his friend and comrade "Did anything change? Look… We're in no place to refuse any orders given to us… But maybe if I come out alive from this mission… Maybe they'll treat the kids differently." Takeshi was reminded the horrors from their days.

Disposable.

Replacable.

Nobodies.

Those are the things that soldiers from his troop came to realize. They met bitter ends, his friends and comrades who all were hopeful that they would help change the world through their efforts. All was in vain if one was quirkless, a nobody born with no talents or powers.

Cripple.

That's what he came to accept as a fate. Sensing that this might be his last day, the man took a deep breath before heading out.

"No one will help you even if we alert them." Nighteye warned him for the last time, hoping that his words can reach deep within his friend.

"If we alert heroes that a quirkless nobody like me was sent out in-place of more capable heroes, this program would cease to exist!" Takeshi yelled, angrily slamming his fist onto the door. Nighteye stood there in place, shocked to have realized that the Dark Horse Program was a sham.

Looking up to the sky, Nighteye hoped to whatever deity was listening that his friend's fate would change.

*End of Flashback*

It didn't take too long before the students noticed the absence of their instructor. It was already dark out when Takeshi hadn't come back from earlier this morning. Izuku and the others were growing worried, continuously asking around the others if they had seen their instructor anywhere.

Meanwhile, in a large area far away from the camp, various 'Keep Out' tape caged two men fighting. Stain held one sword in his hand while numerous other of his thirty swords scattered the whole field, each sword ready to be used by either him or Takeshi.

Takeshi steeled himself and readied combat, charging up his knuckle-dusters, waiting for the first attack.

"Now I shall test the gravity of your resolve. Are you like one of those fake heroes? Or do you have the true spirit of being a hero!" Stain charged forward with his sword ready to stab Takeshi, in blinding speeds, Takeshi narrowly avoided the attack, intercepting Stain with a charged attack sending the villain a few meters back.

Coughing up a few splotches of blood, Stain felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins.

'Hmmm let's see how far you can go.' He thought, running around the field to take two more swords, Stain charged once again towards Takeshi. One blade in his right hand while two more seated neatly on his left, Stain swung like an elegant samurai with such agile speed and tenacity.

"Three sword-style!" he shouted, using all three blades to strike at once, Takeshi picked up a sword nearby to intercept the attack.

"Bear-Stance!" Takeshi yelled back, after he stopped the attack from Stain. Adopting a fierce stance, Takeshi ran towards Stain, avoiding strikes and slashes in the process, using his knuckle-dusters in a pointed strike, he struck Stain hard in the side which sent the villain hurtling towards a building.

"Seventh sword-style…" a menacing aura loomed over Takeshi, feeling that his body was paralyzed in place. He immediately saw Stain grabbing two swords, one in each hand and was charging towards him.

Stain used his quirk to his advantage, now on the offensive, he sliced open Takeshi's tendons near his knees. Blood splattered across the floor as Takeshi bled on the ground. Discarding the two swords in hand, Stain then grabbed three more nearby, using them to slash open Takeshi's chest diagonally.

'This is the end-' Takeshi thought, still paralyzed from the effects of Stain's quirk. Stain then lunged forward Takeshi, two swords seemingly used to butcher the poor man. He slashed on Takeshi's arms and then stabbed two swords on his shoulders to pin him down to the ground.

With his life fading away by the second, Takeshi saw a foggy vision from afar.

His students had come, all roaring and ready for a fight. Looking at Stain with pleading eyes, the man begged for the villain to spare his precious students. Stain had cold eyes boring into Takeshi's searching the man for any hint of fear.

Yet all he saw was a man willing to face death.

No fear.

Only more defiance and gusto.

Stain smiled, pulling out the blades from Takeshi's shoulders before jumping from afar to flee.

"You truly are a hero. I applaud you for standing up against me and for going the distance." Stain fled while Izuku and the others ran for help.

"Sensei!" he yelled, running towards the bleeding Takeshi. Takeshi smiled, seeing all his students for the last time. He knew that there was never a chance for him to win, but he still held onto the promise that with his life, these students would no longer have to be the ones to answer to the beckoning call of the higher ups.

They would truly become heroes, not a disposable soldier like him.

"Sensei… Please stay with us!" Izuku coaxed him, Takeshi had a peaceful smile on his face. Feeling colder by the second, Takeshi took off his knuckle-dusters and placed them gently onto Izuku's hands, a proud smile danced across the man's face.

"Take my will to fight with you… No matter what… Don't forget a hero's pride… Embrace your dreams… Izu…ku…" Takeshi died in Izuku's arms. The man smiled through the pain and passed peacefully. Izuku shouted into the night and howled in grief for his teacher.

Takeshi was the last victim of the higher-ups' abuse towards people like him. The powerless were sent like sheep to be slaughtered, to be test subjects to those villains with potent quirks. He died bounded by duty and hope.

Hope that with his death that things might change for his beloved students.

* * *

The funeral took place shortly after, most of Takeshi's family grieved in silenced upon Nighteye telling them what had happened.

"Sensei… Why would he fight someone that dangerous… Weren't there other heroes around at the time…" Izuku grieved, desperately looking towards Nighteye for answers. Nighteye vowed to change everything for their students from that day on. The loss of a friend and comrade took a huge toll on him.

From afar the funeral, Stain loomed over, looking towards the only man that he praised worthy of being a hero. His judgement was too late when Takeshi had succumbed to his wounds. He took another unnecessary life.

His creed was once again tarnished.

He walked away in shame with his head hung low. His creed which he thought as unshakable had been broken. A man with no power is the only man apart from All-Might to have shown him the tenacity of a true hero.

The heart of a man.

Stain disappeared into the shadows, contemplating earlier the look on Takeshi's eyes.

'Those eyes that twinkled with hope… Why wouldn't he beg for his life then…' numerous questions plagued his mind. The teacher that he'd cut down didn't fear for his life, he was more-so concerned for his precious students who came to his aid. Those eyes of him that held onto life and kept on fighting to his last breath, he was a man truly worth of praise.

A beloved teacher and comrade died that day. A soldier, born and ready to die if it means that plenty more would carry one peaceful lives if he did. Takeshi hoped that through his death, no more students of his would be forced to answer the beckoning call of the heroic agencies.

He had hope, hope that his silent sacrifice would be enough to quell the thirst for power that numerous heroes had. For he, a powerless man would be willing to face the odds if it would pave a way for the new generation.

\- End

* * *

A:N/ If you're wondering why Takeshi died so suddenly, it's because the next parts of the story I had in mind never called for a teacher like him. I felt that he wasn't that too important in the story, I just wanted him to make an example for Stain and to have the death that would question Stain's creed. (I know he refuses to kill the true heroes) but more-so I wanted to delve deeper into Stain's creed, that what would happen if for example he killed someone with a worthy heart. So it kinda evens out, Takeshi get's a proper send-off while Stain dips back into the shadows to contemplate what he really is (what his creed and ideals stand for)

I'd like to focus more on this story from Kirishima's point, Izuku's and Mirio's. So they would get more mentions compared to their other classmates. Also, the class of 1-A would be involved later into the story so please look forward to it. I'm really excited for this story!


	4. Chapter 4

A:N/ Hey there! I'm back again with another chapter! Anywho I'd like to thank everyone who supported this story, I didn't know that this would get popular pretty quick (my phone was beeping like crazy from all the follow/favorites) Thank you all for supporting this story, I do hope that you all would continue to read and enjoy this.

* * *

Through the Fire and Flames

* * *

The students from the Dark Horse program still haven't gotten over Takeshi's death. It was two weeks after they'd found out that he'd been sent on a suicide mission on a whim by the people in power. It was madness, sending a quirkless man to fight Stain, one of the deadliest modern villains to have surface at the time.

Everyone was still stuck by grief, trying each day to better themselves being a tough task given that their primary motivator had died. Beloved by many, Takeshi held onto them and promised them that he would turn them into aspiring and great heroes. His promise though, led to his untimely demise.

Nighteye was busy examing the report papers given to him by the heroes agency. Not a single person even bat an eye on Takeshi's death, ruling his cause of death being by the hands of Stain, not from the suicide mission that he was forced to go on. Nighteye crumpled the papers and threw it across the room in a fit of rage.

'We are not disposable drones for you to send out and slaughter…' he ran through his mind and remembered the painful memories that he saw from the vision he had of Takeshi. There wasn't a scenario or future that held him being the winner versus Stain. He could've been on the scene, he could've prevented it all from happening…

But in doing so would jeopardize the deal that he bargained with the government.

* * *

*Flashback*

In a dark office Nighteye sat for tea along with the supreme heroes' council. Men clad in business suits and bodyguards filled up the vicinity of the room. The pressure was almost choking. One wrong word and these men could ruin his hero career with a word out of their mouth.

"You understand that we cannot let the public know that were allowing quirkless people to roam around and be heroes, correct?" the man in front of Nighteye asked, his aged face and wrinkles adding more to the intimidation that he imposed as well as the authority that he held. Nighteye curtly nodded and read over the contract that he was presented with.

"Under these stipulations that we will approve of your request… However…" there was a pregnant pause in his voice. The men whispered to themselves and then looked back at Nighteye before coming to a conclusion.

"The program would be kept under-wraps. Classified. Under this contract are you and your friend will be at our beckoning whenever we feel fit to mobilize you. Do you understand?" the man once again repeated. It was a death sentence, this contract. It was signing away your freedom, and for what? A passing dream that the powerless might be given the chance to prove themselves?

Before they could sign the contract, Nighteye pulled Takeshi to the side before talking to him about leaving the contract.

"We sign that contract, we might as well sign them over our rights, Takeshi." He said sternly, voicing out his opinion against his always-optimistic friend. Takeshi scratched the back of his head and sat down with Nighteye.

"Have you ever seen the kids at the General Studies division of U.A? Or any other school for that matter?" Takeshi asked, Nighteye shook his head and said no.

Nighteye sighed and sat down beside his friend, going through a vending machine in the lobby to get them drinks.

"Rejects. Remember those classes of kids with quirks?" Takeshi recalled bitter memories of his early days. He tried hard back then to get into the hero program even if he was a hero. Way before his soldier days, he applied to U.A and got admitted into their General Studies division.

"Ahh, I see… You're talking about those kids with quirks that cannot control them at their age?" Takeshi nodded, remembering his rejected peers that tried desperately to be moved to the heroes division for years. None succeeded in any of them. He saw the glaring weakness that was handicapped to these kids.

"Do you know why they failed? Kids with quirks and the quirkless?" he asked, chugging down his green tea and throwing the bottle at a nearby trashcan. Nighteye shook his head, coming up with no answers why they wouldn't have been transferred if they gave it their all.

"It's because no one was willing to give them a shot." Takeshi finished, before standing up to go back inside the office room. Nighteye stood in awe, for a man with no powers in a world full of them, he certainly carried himself like one.

Nighteye followed Takeshi to the office room and saw him looking over the contracts one last time, going over to them word per word before grabbing a nearby pen and signing his name on it. Nighteye gave Takeshi a stern look before sighing to himself, eventually giving-in and signing the contract along with his long-time comrade.

"Excellent decision gentlemen, now let me give you the honor of naming the program from which you two will spearhead!" the man grinned maliciously, offering the two of them some creative choice for the name. Takeshi thought about it for a while before returning the grin at the old man who seemed uncomfortable by Takeshi's tenacity and gusto.

"Dark Horse." Takeshi said with a confident smile on his face. The men muttered something like 'SWAT' or 'Nameless' but Takeshi insisted that they would be called the Dark Horse.

Upon exiting the huge building from where the office was, Takeshi and Nighteye went out for drinks.

"Why name us Dark Horse?" Nighteye asked, downing a mug of beer before ordering another. Takeshi laughed out loud and looked at him ridiculously as if he's crazy.

"Don't you think it's rather fitting? Dark Horse, rejects? You know, were the bunch that nobody expects to win or even be given the chance to compete." Takeshi explained through his pissed drunk stupor and hiccups. Nighteye got the bigger picture and silently nodded in agreement.

'Huh, so you're not all brawn after all.' He thought as they passed by the night, readying themselves for what's to come.

*End of flashback*

* * *

Nighteye picked up Takeshi's knuckle-dusters that Izuku had given to him. He eyed curiously at the pair of simple-looking brass knuckle set and fondly remembered his friend punching villains with it and going toe-to-toe with the baddest and most dangerous of them.

"What would you do, Takeshi?" he asked out of the blue, seemingly lost in thought before he heard knocking coming from behind the door to his office. Sitting himself upright and adjusting his glasses, he coughed and cleared his voice. "Come in" he ordered, seeing Izuku and Eijiro along with Mirio standing in his office.

"Why the hell are you boys still at camp? Didn't I tell you brats to scram? It's an off-day for Christ's sake." Nighteye said irritably. The guys shuffled awkwardly in their place before giving him serious salutes.

"Sir! We would like to ask permission to go out with you and eat steak sir!" they all said in unison. Nighteye cracked a grin at the stupidity of the situation. Seriously, all this for them to just invite him over to eat, he couldn't believe that in all his years he would get these rowdy bunch of knuckleheads.

"You knuckleheads better get the hell out of my office –" he saw them visibly wincing and cringe at his slightly not-intended harsh tone. He calmed down and cleared his voice before any of them would leave. "And let me get my coat…" he finished, seeing the boys lighting up for the first time after a while. Maybe this was what they needed, some teacher-student time that could ease up the tension that they were all feeling.

As they were walking by the street towards the restaurant, they saw numerous apartment buildings caught in a huge inferno. Wildly looking around, Nighteye and his students saw that they fire was caused by a villain with a volatile quirk which spread along the powerlines, effectively setting numerous buildings on fire.

He was about to bark on orders for them to evacuate the citizens on the ground before he saw the three of them running headlong into the blazing inferno.

"HEY! GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE YOU BASTARDS!" Nighteye yelled through the panicking crowd of people screaming for help. He grunted in annoyance because this particular district was on the other side of the fire department. Any nearby heroes agency were also proven to be useless since their heroes' quirks weren't suited for the inferno.

"MIRIO! USE YOUR QUIRK TO PASS THROUGH THE BURNING DOORS, THEY MIGHT EXPLODE ON US IF WE OPEN THEM!" Deku yelled, grabbing a towel and using it to cover his mouth. Eijiro and Mirio did the same, with Mirio being unable to use his quirk as it was rendered useless against rooms that could not hold together any longer.

"FUCK! MY QUIRK CAN'T ACTIVATE IN A PLACE LIKE THIS IZUKU! EIJIRO! HOW ABOUT YOURS?" he shouted towards the redhead, Eijiro nodded and charged headfirst along the doors of the apartment. For a few trips back and ripping out doors from apartment to apartment, they'd manage to help evacuate the people out of the burning building. Nighteye was down at the ground looking towards the heroes that Takeshi believed in with awe.

'Their legs must've moved on their own… Such reckless students my knuckleheads are…' he thought while phoning over other hero agencies to come in to assist. Backdraft's hero agency said that they would be there in fifteen minutes, while the other agencies' heroes assisted in helping the students that were still caught in the burning buildings to rip out the doors and assist the people outside the building.

"Kekekeke… Such fragile beings…" The villain who had started the fire, taunted at the three students who were still in the middle of escorting people out. Izuku searched wildly for a fire extinguisher, however all he saw were empty casings and one in front of him.

"Ya lookin' for this, boy?" the Villain taunted, throwing the red fire extinguisher along with the burning building that had engulfed it in flames shortly. Izuku grunted and tried to buy time for his two other friends to get the people out of the building.

"MIRIO! EIJIRO! YOU GUYS GET ALL THE PEOPLE OUT OF HERE! I'LL TRY AND BUY US SOME TIME!" he yelled his orders, trying his best to put up a brave front even if his legs are shaking in fear. He might die today. It was the reality that he took upon himself, his more capable friends had to be the ones to rescue the people ensuring that plenty of lives would be saved.

The villain paid no mind against Izuku, opting to cause more serious damage by going after Mirio and Eijiro instead. He towered over Izuku and hauled himself towards the two other students who were scrambling to get people out of the building.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Izuku shouted, grabbing a burnt piece of wood and smashing in into the villains' head. The villain grunted in pain, and in a flash he grabbed Izuku by the neck and eyed at the boy, sniffing him before licking his lips and laughing out loud.

"KEKEKEKE! YOU DARE AND TRY TO FIGHT ME? CRIPPLE? THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH YOUR HEAD!" He then grinned and smashed Izuku's whole body against a collapsing structure pole, burying Izuku in the rubble.

"IZUKU!" Eijiro and Mirio tried to reach their friend, only to be tossed aside as well. The villain leapt up to the top-most floor of the building before leaving the students to die into the inferno. They coughed up the last remaining air in the lungs.

Suffocated.

Dehydrated.

Exhausted.

Dying.

Just to name a few of the things of all the sensations that they were feelings. It scared the crap out of them, knowing that this is the end. The three students still refused to give-in, Eijiro being the first one able to stand up, supporting his friends with his signature move.

"UNBREAKABLE!" He shouted as numerous spikes protruded out of the tips of his teeth, mouth and all over his body. He was as sharp as a knife and as durable as steel in this form. Mirio and Izuku got out of the rubble soon after, quickly they scrambled for the nearby fire-exit.

The villain, who was still on top of the building, taunted the watching ground and the newsreports from helicopters, yelling amongst the crowd of panicking people to listen to his message.

"STAIN WAS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! YOU ALL LIVE YOUR LIVES WITHOUT WORRY, GOING BY DAY-TO-DAY WIHOUT EVEN CARING FOR THE HEROES THAT RISK THEIR LIVES FOR YOU, THAT BLED FOR YOU!"

Various commotions of people erupted amongst the crowd.

"Where's All-Might?!"

"Where's Backdraft!? He should have already been here by now!"

"Somebody help!"

The villain cackled with laughter, mocking the people amongst the crowd. Nighteye who was still busy escorting people and contacting the other heroes, noticed the villain on top of the burning building.

"SUCH SELFISH LIVES LIVED BY YOU UNGRATEFUL IMBECILES! WE WILL PURGE THIS WORLD OF THE FAKE HEROES, WE WILL DIRTY OUR HANDS IF NECESSARY, WE DO NOT FORVIE THOSE HEROES WHO ACT UPON THEIR RESPECTIVE EGOS AND WORSHIP THEIR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. AS WE CONDUCT A REVOLUTION UPON THIS WRETCHED SOCIETY!" he then rose up and jumped a few feet in the air, slamming back down onto the buildings causing in to give up and collapse into rubble.

People were in mass hysteria, they fled and panicked, shoving each other and trying to one-up the other just so that they could save themselves. A little girl dropped her stuffed rabbit, grabbing the villains' attention he leapt over to the girl and crouched towards her.

"NO! MARIKA DON'T GET CLOSE TO HIM!" the woman yelled, the young girl then stiffen upon seeing the hulking villain in front of her.

"Mama!" she cried, right on queue a gust of sand and other various fire-retardants were sprayed towards him. Where did it come from?

He looked around irritably, covered in a white power-like substance that caused his quirk to malfunction. A billowing smoke showed three shadows from behind them. The burning building had been collapsed already as the smoke cleared, the villain held the girl hostage.

"Mama!" she cried again, her mother was being stopped by the local enforcement who couldn't do anything against the villain.

"Ma'am it's too dangerous out there!" they yelled, trying to hold back the thrashing woman.

"NO! MY DAUGHTER IS STILL IN THERE! YOU HAVE TO HELP HER!" she begged them, but all she saw were cold eyes full of fear.

There were no heroes here.

Until…

The smoke cleared to reveal Mirio holding a steel pipe over his shoulder and Eijiro who was hauling over a heavy set of chains. The villain licked his lips in anticipation, waiting for the next move.

"So I see you boys like playing hero-" he continued to laugh maniacally as he was met face-to-face with Mirio's long steel pipe and smashed its way into the villain's face. Through his darkened face from the flames, the villain saw Mirio's impassive look as he took another beating to the face with the steel pipe.

"Let the girl go, we'll settle this like men." Mirio growled, holding over his steel pipe onto the villains head, the villain complied with Mirio and threw the girl back into the crowd. Standing up a good few feet taller than the two of Eijiro and Mirio combined the villain cracked his knuckles and grinned at the two.

"You have my respects boys it takes a man with balls to even go toe-to-toe with me… " the villain took out a suspicious looking syringe from his pockets before aiming it at his neck, looking intently at the two students.

"NOW, LET'S SEE YOU DANCE FOR ME!" he shouted as he injected the syringe onto him. The villain instantly combusted into flames, Mirio and Eijiro looked at each other and nodded, readying their weapons and putting their plan into action.

"We just need to buy time…" Mirio whispered to Eijiro as they waited for Izuku. The villain easily overpowered them no heroes were still coming to their aid. At least another five minutes were needed for Backdraft and his fire-department crew to arrive.

"UNBREAKABLE!" Eijiro shouted once more, turning into the hardened monster form that he had. Mirio then snuck behind the villain as Eijiro went pound-for-pound against the monster-like villain.

"PHANTOM MENACE!" Mirio threw his metal pipe along the air and dipped into the ground.

"KEKEKE, CHEAP TRICKS DON'T SAVE DEADMEN!" the villain hurled Eijro at the building, luckily for the young man, he managed to wrangle his massive chain along the villains mouth.

"HA! I GOT YOU NOW MOTHERFUCKER!" Eijiro shouted, right on queue Mirio popped out of the ground and slammed the metal pipe six consecutive times. The villain struggled like a bull and still tried to shake off Eijiro who was on his back, Miro was keeping him at bay by slamming the pipe he held onto the villain's hand.

"IZUKU! ANYTIME NOW! I CAN'T HOLD HIM FOREVER!" In flash of green hair, Eijiro saw his friend running towards them two with balls in his hands and a fire hose that he bit down with his teeth.

"NOW!" as Eijiro wrestled the villain, Izuku threw the two balls into the villain's mouth. Then grabbing the hose, he unfurled the hose and Mirio activated the waterlines, shooting off a huge blast of water pressure that filled the villain's mouth.

"GRAAAAAAH – " the villain's mouth then filled up with the fire retardant balls, he vomited up a huge number of water mixed with the fire retardant before returning back into his original form.

"Crafty 'lil fuckers ain't ya? Congratulations boys…" the villain said to the three of them before passing out in exhaustion. A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd of being held back by the police, luckily for Mirio no one got to see his naked self, opting to quickly change in a nearby rubble big enough to shield him away from prying eyes.

Nighteye had come into the crowd, seeing the people clamoring for the three heroic students that fought the villain and saved the day. These rough and young, reckless and stupid students of his that defied the odds and willed themselves to fight for the greater good and stand up to the villain.

"WE FUCKING DID IT MAN!" Eijiro yelled raising up one of his fists before gentling plopping down on his behind. He was exhausted himself, unbreakable normally only lasted five minutes, but he managed to extend it to eight when needed like today.

"Sensei… Are you seeing us right now…" Izuku muttered through the tears that stung his eyes. Mirio had slung a hand over Izuku's shoulder before he nearly collapsed himself.

"Fuck… That was… That was really… really stupid and dangerous…" he was out of breath, trying to wet his dried up and cracked lips. Mirio gave him a weak smile before laughing at the three of them.

Nighteye saw the celebrating crowd as the pro heroes arrived to arrest the villain. Paramedics tended to the three of his students as they asked for his certification that these students were under his care. He walked over to the three exhausted students, Mirio who was chugging down a large bottle of water, Izuku who was getting his arm wrapped as it got broken earlier, and Eijro, who had to be carried off later for the broken ribs and elbow that he sustained from the fight.

"You fucking knuckleheads!" Nighteye yelled and scolded at the three of his students before pulling them into short hug.

"You violate protocol one more time… And I swear to God you knuckleheads would be scrubbing the bathroom floors with your toothbrushes for the rest of the month…" he threatened, earning fearful looks amongst his students. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked again.

"Y-YES SIR!" They all quipped in fear, he admired their audacity. Maybe this program wasn't a mistake after all.

"At ease, you did a fine job, Soldiers. Good men, be sure to get your injuries checked out before coming back to camp." The three of them saluted to Nighteye with huge grins on themselves, idiotic and stupid grins.

~ End

* * *

A:N/ So in the comments... I saw that some of you were surprised why Deku wasn't given the (captain america) treatment. Well in the first place, he wasn't suppose to have quirks in the original story of Boku No Hero Academia. His character in the earlier drafts depicted him as being crafty and reliant on tactics instead of being all macho lang All-Might and charging headfirst into the fray. You can see now why I took that inspiration and added my own fight scenes with it. Don't forget to review on your way out! Thanks again for readng.


	5. Chapter 5

A:N/ So hey there, I'm back again after a little while! I was already planning on releasing this yesterday but I got caught up in my laziness and decided to just screw it and hold onto releasing this till the next day. Anywho, this chapter takes place after the event of the last one. This happened literally hours after the whole action scene from the last chapter. This is a mellow one so I hope you guys still like it!

* * *

Aftermath

* * *

Principal Nezu and All-Might had been watching the news earlier, seeing the latest happenings of the fire that broke out on the other side of the city. All-Might stood there and clutched the remote in his hand, angry and feeling powerless.

" **Reports have said that three students have mobilized on the fire that broke out earlier. Witnesses say that these students have engaged in combat against the villain, the hero departments are now in the subject of criticism. Many onlookers are questioning why these students were the only ones to have helped, evacuees are skeptical in the handling of the fire and many kept wondering: where were the pro heroes when we needed them? – This is Yamamoto Akasaka, reporting live from the scene. Back to you Tsugumi-"**

Nezu shut off the television and looked at All-Might while taking a sip into his nighttime tea. The symbol of Peace deeply sighed he picked up his own cup of tea and sipping into it to soothe his tense nerves.

"Do you know what else I've found out?" Nezu asked, All-Might shook his head and had no idea what he was talking about. Nezu then leaned back into his chair and looked out of the window with a twinkle in his eye.

"One of the kids was rumored to be quirkless." Nezu finished, taking in All-Might's look of disbelief with a warm welcome. Quirkless people were always on the bottom of society, it might not have been noticeable since people avoid discriminating them. But it is evident in the work environments that the quirkless have no business or future in heroics. All-Might smiled at the thought, a quirkless hero for someone so powerless to have faced against a mighty villain, he was awed at the bravery of the young man.

"We need more people like that…" he mumbled, finishing his cup of tea before excusing himself.

"I know… I wonder why such self-sacrificing kids didn't end up in the heroes program." Nezu quipped.

In that single day alone, most of the hero agencies were grilled with questions by the media. Not only did Izuku, Eijiro and Mirio evacuate the people from the burning buildings, but they were also the ones to have defeated the villain which was a problem even amongst the pro heroes to handle.

* * *

\- Musutafu City General Hospital –

"And were finally done!" said a cheerful nurse with chestnut brown hair. Ochako Uraraka, as it read on her nametag. Izuku thanked her for assisting him in casting his broken arm. They scheduled for an appointment tomorrow for Recovery Girl to heal up their injuries, the elderly woman already being tired after tending to the various other people there that were injured.

"Thank you again, Uraraka-san, Recovery Girl." Izuku along with his other two friends bowed in respect and gratitude. He and Mirio were sitting on the beds while Eijiro was laying down on the bed from his broken ribs.

"It's our pleasure Midoriya-san." She beamed to them Izuku found her cute and really nice from how delicate she'd been in helping Recovery Girl tend to them. Mirio and Eijiro noticed this and elbowed their friend with grins on their faces. Izuku felt the stares of his companions from the back of his neck. It frazzled him as they wiggled their eyebrows teasingly towards him.

"W-What?" Izuku turned to them while taking a sip into his water. He'd been dying to rehydrate himself after the scuffle earlier. They weren't allowed liquids while they were being examined by the nurses and Ochako. Thankfully after being tended to they were allowed to have water, taking as much needed gulps from the liquid from time to time.

"I see you also think that cute little intern nurse is hot, eh?" Eijiro teased as he leaned back onto the bed with his hands behind his head. Izuku instantly spat out his water and had this 'ugly-embarrassed' look on his face. Eijiro and Mirio scrunched up their faces and patted their friend in the shoulder.

"Chill out man, it was only a joke." Eijiro chided with a teasing smile, Mirio was quiet but was wiggling his eyebrows towards Izuku with a huge grin on his face.

"You know, from what I can tell she's really your type, ain't she Midoriya?" the older boy teased again to his friend. Izuku was in a hot seat, feeling the pressure of his companions while they grilled him further.

"Okaaaay that's enough you guys, I'm going out for a walk. See you in a bit." Izuku mumbled, turning his heel before walking upstairs to the rooftop of the hospital. Luckily for him that it wasn't off limits, but he did need to get an approval first by the guard there on standby, the hospital still didn't allow many patients out at night without special permits by the guards if they wanted to visit the upstairs balcony.

"Ten dollars says that Midoriya will 'magically' meet up with the girl?" Mirio started the bet, placing down ten dollars besides Eijiro's nightstand. The red haired teen grinned back at his friend and placed back down the same amount.

"Ten dollars says that he won't." Eijiro challenged back. Mirio inwardly sighed to himself as he already knew that he was going to win.

'Ahh Kirishima… If you only know how helpful my quirk is…' he mused to himself, knowing that Ochako was already upstairs. Mirio's recent mastery of his quirk allows him to use echolocation to identify where his foes are and his nearby surroundings. It was a little bit tricky at first, but eventually the older boy found out that he can also map out the movements of the enemies by tracing the sounds of their footsteps, with this Mirio developed sensitive hearing that can allow him to distinguish between sounds.

The cool breeze of the night instantly sent chills towards Izuku. The sky full of stars twinkled at the night as the moon shone down on him, lighting up the whole rooftop. Izuku heard Ochako's voice before he continued towards the railings of the building.

"Yes Daddy, everyone's so nice here at the hospital. Yeah! Totally, I'm really lucky that Recovery Girl took me in as her apprentice after the whole hero entrance exams fiasco. Yes Dad, I'll be good. I love you guys." He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Izuku couldn't quietly leave the door without it making a creak. Ochako heard him and looked out curiously towards Izuku who had his head down in guilt.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you, Uraraka-san." He apologized to Ochako. She smiled and reassured him that everything is fine and that she didn't mind.

Ochako shook her head "Hey its fine, don't worry about it Midoriya-kun." She beamed at him, her rosy cheeks still visible by the soft glows of the lights there. Izuku felt his heart's pace quicken at her naturally calming and friendly demeanor. Her chestnut brown hair fluttered gently onto the wind as she relished in its gentle caress.

After contemplating to ask, Izuku joined Ochako in admiring the view of the nightlife from the railings of the rooftop.

Ochako glanced over Izuku "Midoriya-san, can I ask you a question?" Izuku stiffened and nodded, a little bit unsure what would she want to ask him.

"Yeah, what is it Uraraka-san?" he asked, seeing her twiddling with her thumbs and a little bit embarrassed to ask something that's on her mind.

"Why did you run towards the dangerous burning buildings earlier? Recovery Girl said that you were quirkless which I didn't believe at first since it was really crazy that a quirkless person would run towards a dangerous situation like that. I was amazed that you, Kirishima-san and Togata-san managed to beat the villain despite being rookies."

Izuku stared at her and shuffled in his place, unsure on how to reply towards her concerns. He scratched the back of his head and let out a small laugh, trying to ease his nerves. He looked towards Ochako and she had a small frown towards him, a concerned look passing by her stare.

"But… I'm more concerned for you. That was really reckless!" she exclaimed. It wasn't new that Izuku got to hear that he was quirkless. But this was the first time that anyone other than his mother scolded him for being so reckless. She's right he really needed to tone down his increasingly dangerous need to help people in times of danger. He could get himself killed.

"My legs moved on their own." He admitted to her, laughing at his own misfortunes and stupidity. It was insane that he would go to such lengths, but he couldn't just standby as other people were killed by the fire, he had to do something. Deep down he felt something that compelled him to take that first stride that was all he needed to continue on helping people.

Ochako cocked her head to the side

"What do you mean that your legs moved on their own?"

Izuku chuckled "Well, I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't go and help the people there. My former teacher told me that. He was also quirkless like me, but that didn't stop him from helping people even if he didn't get any recognition out of it that most heroes would normally get." Remembering Takeshi's advice and words to him warmed Izuku. Ochako pouted and recalled to her memories as well, a little bit embarrassed to tell that she was only in it for the money when she tried to apply for U.A. She also wanted to help people then, but she wanted to help her parents most of all since they worked very hard for her so that she wouldn't have to stick around the family business.

"Can I tell you something?" Ochako mused. Izuku nodded slowly and waited for her to start.

"Well, I'm really amazed at your bravery, a little bit jealous actually." She admitted, Izuku flushed red and tried to tell her that he wasn't brave at all.

"I was… I kinda failed back then during the hero's entrance exam." She recalled back a couple of years ago when she was fifteen. Already seventeen, Ochako fondly reminisced what had caused her to fail.

"What happened? You know… If it's alright to ask?" Izuku asked.

"I called it quits after almost being squashed by a giant robot… " she said, Izuku's eye widened like saucers, what the hell is that kind of a dangerous entrance test? Ochako poked fun at his surprised face and told him not to worry about it.

"They were closely monitoring the whole test so that nobody would get seriously hurt."

"Still… What if they made a mistake?" Izuku mumbled, Ochako pinched his cheek out of annoyance to make him stop with his ramblings, giggling at the flustered boy.

"Hey, chill out its fine. So yeah… There I was, I called it quits since I couldn't get over the actual fear that I can seriously get hurt in this job, I phoned my dad that day and cried like a baby." She giggled. Izuku glanced over at her and saw her eyes glazing as she quickly rubbed the small streaks of tears.

"But luckily for me, Recovery Girl took an interest in my quirk. Turns out, I can really be useful in transporting people, kind of like a human stretcher. I can easily lift up people without risking them being injured, so that's a huge plus when it comes to being a paramedic." Ochako beamed with pride. She started her internship for recovery girl two years ago, now on her final year she can nearly get her special field paramedic license soon.

"That's great Uraraka-san, you'll really help out tons of people!" Izuku smiled excitedly. Ochako shook her head and tried to be humble, jokingly saying that the money is also good which is why she stuck around.

"It's getting pretty late, Midoriya-san… We should probably head back right about now -" she yawned while stretching out her sore limbs. Izuku nodded and felt weary himself after a long day.

"Goodnight Uraraka-san… Uraraka-san?" he felt a warm weight gently laying on his shoulder as he finished. Her chestnut brown hair was sprawled across his shoulder as she lightly snored. He breathed in her scent and gulped, wondering what he should do. Ochako was fast asleep while Izuku remained in his place, stiffened debating on what to do.

'Ahh... Screw this...' he scolded to himself as he tucked a stray strand of Ochako's brown hair over her ear.

Izuku shook his head and debated against it. He first gently laid Ochako down the bench, feeling the heat seeping from his face. He then scooped her up bridal-style and carried her downstairs, as they passed by he saw the gushing looks that the other nurses shot at them, some were hitting their co-workers on the shoulder while others gave him a wink and a thumbs-up.

'Mental note to self: Uraraka-san is a heavy sleeper' he thought, getting nearer towards Recovery Girl's ward office. The elderly woman saw the two youngsters from afar and she chuckled at the green haired boy's increasingly embarrassed face.

"Set her down near my office honey, you get some rest as well ya hear?" she smiled, petting his frizzy green hair. Izuku nodded with a small smile on his face, running back towards their room.

"Granny Chiyo…" Bubble Girl whispered towards her mentor as she gushed at Izuku who just left the room. The elderly woman chuckled to herself and held out her hand towards her apprentice with a smirk on her wrinkled face.

"Pay up deary, I told you convincing Ochako-chan to stay up this late at night was a good idea." The cunning elderly woman was handed a ten dollar bill by her apprentice with a sigh.

"Seriously Ganny, I really didn't know how you guessed 'that' would happen." Bubble Girl pouted, sitting down on her table while setting up mahjong tiles for their nightly games.

"Call it an old woman's intuition deary. Now come on, the other gals are coming soon."

* * *

"Phew… I finally got back…" Izuku mumbled while wiping off a little bit of cold sweat that ran down his forehead. Eijiro and Mirio were flicking mindlessly at the channels of the television, the two immediately lighting up when their friend got back.

"So… Did you meet her upstairs?" they both asked at the same time.

"M-Meet who?" Izuku played it cool and tried to avoid the stares that his two friends gave him.

"Did ~ you ~ meet ~ Uraraka-san ~ Upstairs?" Mirio teased in a sing-song voice. Izuku knows that its futile to lie to them at this point, gulping down the embarrassment he nodded and braced himself for their further teasing."

"Ha! I win!" Mirio raised both his arms and laughed at Eijiro who groaned, handing over the money to the winner of the bet.

"Wait what?"

"Oh it's nothing Midoriya, better get some sleep! Big day tomorrow and all."

~ End

* * *

A:N/ Yeah so nothing much really happened in this chapter. Anywho you all noticed that Ochako isn't a hero at this point on so I guess you might be wondering why. Well back at season 1 in the anime, remember the scene where Ochako gets trapped in rubble and nobody came to her aid as a giant fucking robot almost squashed her? Well in the same scenario I figured, "Well Deku isn't in this exams so that means she could fail it." And then I made her call it quits herself for that initial fear.

Then came another idea in my mind, 'Well if Ochako's gonna fail, how the hell do I insert her into my story?' then boom, came in the idea of Recovery Girl taking her in. So there's that.

Anywho, last order of business, the guys and gals here are all seventeen at this point. The training period between Takeshi taking the three in was two years (i kinda forgot to add in the two year timeskip) since in the original manga and anime Deku and co. were all fifteen, I decided to up the numbers in so that they could be more mature in some aspects while also playing in their adolescent crisis'

Ti'll next chapter readers!

P.S: on the slight possibility that 'Black Fuego Rio' reads this - he's the author of Domestic Heroes (really good family centered fic.) thank you so much sir for inspiring me to write fluffy chapters. Please check out his work from time to time, it's really popular right now and is a real treat to read ;)


	6. Chapter 6

A:N/ Hey thanks for all the recent follows and reviews! Dang I was so stoked when I found my found beeping like crazy from all the notifications I received (most of them were follows and favorites... But hey, it's better than nothing) Anywho, I'd like to introduce you all to the main arc of this story. From this point on, every chapter would be more or less packed with action and horrifyingly specific scenes of killing and bloodshed so I think I should tell you guys in advance that this story would be changed into rated M.

* * *

Catalyst

* * *

While on a day out on the job, Katsuki got hurt so badly that he had to be hospitalized for extensive care. The young man had been tirelessly working for the past few months after gaining his hero's license. Wasting no time each day, Katsuki essentially forced himself to recover fast. He couldn't lay still while plenty of people are put in danger by the villains.

'Just about a few months ago, that fucking nerd and me were fighting like kids…' he reminisced his squabbles with Izuku, grimacing as the green haired quirkless young man visited him.

"So… You're going to be cleared out today, huh Kacchan?" Izuku asked with a big smile on his face. Katsuki gave him the look and scoffed at his friend.

"I saw your little stunt at the burning buildings incident." He replied to his friend flatly with an unreadable expression on his face. Izuku scratched his cheek and nodded.

"Yeah… Me and my friends were thankfully able to defeat the villain just in the nick of time before the whole complex crashed down." He explained sheepishly, avoiding the look that Katsuki was giving him.

"But what 'exactly' are you doing now, Deku? What're you up to recently?" Katsuki held his gaze towards his friend, not having a clue that Izuku was enlisted in a special program.

'Should he know about the truth?' Izuku pondered, it had only been a few weeks since he and Katsuki patched up their rocky friendship. He had also been the one to help take care of his friend while he was out of commission, much to the young man's dismay.

"I've been training to be a hero, Kacchan." Izuku decided that he should tell him. Even if he would laugh at him, he still wanted his friend to know that he hadn't given up on chasing his dreams. Katsuki smirked towards him and loosened the grip on his hands.

"You were a fucking pathetic dweeb when we met years ago… Look at you now, persevering throughout all the bullshit I gave you all these years…" he said fondly, earning him an annoyed glance from Izuku and a hearty laugh. Before they fought numerous times, they used to have been inseparable. The two grew up idolizing heroes, hoping to become like their idols one day. Luck had been on Katsuki's side since he was the one born with a quirk, unlike Izuku who didn't possess one.

"I wouldn't give up my dream for anything in the world, Kacchan. You of all people should know that by now." Izuku smiled with a determined look on his face. Katsuki shook his head and laughed at his friend, lightly flicking his finger on Izuku's forehead.

"Don't get too reckless now, Deku you're still a fucking pebble compared to me you loser." He teased, wondering why his friend decided to stick with that nickname that he gave in an attempt to taunt him. Izuku was still wincing at the spot where his friend flicked his finger, thankfully it didn't redden and irritate.

"How did you get hurt this time?" Izuku asked this time, feeling a sense of worry that a hero of Katsuki's caliber would be hurt and put out of commission this badly.

"I didn't meet him, per say. He's known as the Golden Devil. He's a recent villain that's been racking up his kill score, not only that but this guy has been killing villains as well." Katsuki shuddered, remembering the horrific gunshot wounds that he saw from the deceased villains and heroes.

The Golden Devil has been known to toy with his prey from afar, setting up traps while sniping at them from afar with pinpoint accuracy. Victims have been mangled and contorted into horrific works of 'art' as the Golden Devil puts it. The villain has been seen toying around with various technologies, producing some kills that looks as if they had been killed with fireworks and cherry blossoms. Various bodies had been found splattered with color and blood, their whole bodies being entrapped in reinforced vines that grow into cherry blossom trees.

"What could be this villain's agenda…" Izuku mumbled, continuing to his own devices as Katsuki was also locked within his own thoughts.

'I gotta be more careful around that motherfucker…' he winced, looking down on the scarred flesh of his arm that got hit by one of the bullets that the villain uses.

* * *

*Flashback*

"One…" voiced out an ominous looming man with a mask from afar. He wore a traditional kabuki mask, one that had red horns protruding out of his forehead, his mask was ivory pale and had two menacing glows of red and blue from the eye holes.

'One shot delivers the first strum of this wonderful symphony…' the man smiled wickedly, firing his first shot off the long barrel of his gun that whistled through the night and hit a hero that was in pursuit of a villain.

"W-What the?!" the hero fell flat on his face, blood gushed out everywhere as he was shot right through the chest. The villain who was being chased by the hero cackled into the night sky maniacally laughing at the misfortune of his would-be captor.

"Ha! Serves you goody-two shoes fucking right-" he shouted out before a faint sound of a bullet passing through the air flew into his head.

"Two…" the ominous man smiled as the villain that was being chased earlier turned into one of his 'artistic creations' the man's head had been blown off cleanly from his head, leaving the body to be left on the ground as blood poured out. A faint eerie glow was then seen on the villain's newly decapitated head, the bullet had stopped clean on the man's head and had numerous cherry blossoms sprouting out of them, creating a horrific-looking sight.

'The second shot that starts the ripple through thy heart that resonates and gives the sense of excitement…' the ominous man then saw two more looming figures over the two people that were killed. One of them was the famous hero known as Best Jeanist, accompanied by a Katsuki.

Down at the scene of the grisly crime, Best Jeanist and Katsuki were on high alert. Best Jeanist felt cold sweat running down his forehead.

'It can't be…' his normally calm demeanor was replaced by a sense of dread. Seeing the familiar handiwork of the corpses sent chills down his spine. Looking over to his intern, he saw that Katsuki was stone-faced probably shocked at the disgusting sight in front of him.

"Who… Who would do this…" Katsuki clenched his hand tight, seeing the dead body of one of their teacher's in U.A, Gunhead.

"The question is… How could a hero with the instincts of a marksman be shot cleanly like this… Gunhead's quirk gives him a sixth-sense…" added Best Jeanist who turned away from the horrific gunshot wound that blew into Gunhead's chest.

The ominous killer didn't fire off another shot for a while. The man was silent, calm and collected with his moves. He was vigilant on his position, stationed at a high tower building and hidden amongst the railings of the rooftop.

"Now, for the intermission…" he smiled, eyeing the two down the building with blood in his sight.

"Katsuki, I want you to run towards the agency now. We're in a bad spot if we stay too long here-" the sound of a gunshot from afar faintly registered in Best Jeanist's ear as he narrowly shielded himself from the shot. The wound still punctured through his defense, leaving him bleeding from the side of his head.

"Sir!" shouted Katsuki who looked around wildly and immediately started calling for help.

'I won't be making it out this time… I'm sorry everyone…' Best Jeanist grimaced as numerous pieces of shrapnel were embedded onto the side of his head. He felt his life slowly fading away as he was bleeding.

"Three…" the ominous killer cackled to himself as Best Jeanist's quick defenses left him mortally wounded. The hero was now bleeding on the pavement as Katsuki looked in horror. He gritted his teeth and slung over Best Jeanist's arm on his shoulder.

'Ahh… The third shot that reaches the pinnacle of my symphonic crescendo! Dance for me!' the ominous man was struggling with himself from afar. The madman was steadily becoming more and more unstable. He ran a hand through his heart and clutched it tight, feeling the adrenaline rush that had just happen when he saw the utter look of despair from Best Jeanist's eyes.

"Run…" The hero shoved his intern off of him and saw a faint red blinking light from high above one of the tall buildings.

'You fucking monster…' Best Jeanist felt his legs swerving as he fell down on his knees. Katsuki refused to leave the man behind, stubbornly carrying his superior behind his back as he ran to the nearest hospital for help.

"ANYONE! PLEASE FUCKING HELP US! HEY!-" the fourth and final bullet was shot by the ominous killer. The bullet echoed throughout the night, alerting people as well as gathering plenty of attention from city blocks away. The bullet's sound was akin to those giant fireworks that topped off festivals.

"AT LAST! THE FOURTH SHOT THAT BRINGS ABOUT CHAOS AND DESPAIR! HA HA HA HA HA!" The ominous villain's cry was heard from afar. The madman's wicked laughter was the last thing that Katsuki heard as he saw the blinking red light from afar on top of a building.

Katsuki who was carrying Best Jeanist was shot cleanly on the head. In the nick of time, Best Jeanist managed to conjure up the threads of his clothes to make a shield for his intern, saving Katsuki's life at the cost of his.

Seeing the lifeless body of his mentor being turned into a cherry blossom tree painted a horrific look of disbelief in Katsuki's mind. Best Jeanist's limbs and muscles from his body turned inside-out as his organs along with blood were scattered on the floor, what was left from the horrible looking scene was the mangled body and his head attached along one of the sprouting branches.

'What the hell… ' Katsuki passed out from his wounds after that. Numerous other heroes were followed up on the scene. Reports from the scene say that the hero Gunhead was in pursuit of a villain when the two of them were both shot and killed. Next that happened was, while out on a night patrol duty, Best Jeanist along with his intern, Spitfire or Katsuki were also shot with similar bullets laying around the ground. Best Jeanist died while Katsuki was left hospitalized for a number of weeks.

"In carnage, I bloom, like a flower in the dawn…"

Before anyone arrived on the scene, the killer walked towards Best Jeanist's corpse-tree figure.

"You helped lock me away. You tried to stop my work. My art cannot be contained." He then further defiled Best Jeanist's body by tacking on a message on his corpse's head reading:

'I have risen from the filth and muck.

I am the lotus blossom.

I am beauty.

*End of Flashback*

* * *

Ever since that day, the villain has continued taunting the hero's agencies. The Golden Demon sent out various letters amongst the agencies, telling them that he is coming.

"I will purge this world of its unsightly heroes and villains." Jhin Kanda an insane madman that escaped prison about a year ago, took up his moniker as the 'Golden Demon'. After being sent to a maximum security prison for deranged villains, Jhin was set off on the path of vengeance. He thirsted for blood, but along the way, the madman had a sick sense of art. He viewed his kills as his artworks, each kill being precise and horrific and each bullet that embedded inside his victims was a piece of his soul. Jhin smiled as he finished polishing his firearm and favorite tool for crafting his art, Whisper. He placed the gun back on its elegant rack. He then grabbed a dart and threw it far across the room, the said dart, landing on All-Might's picture.

"The world will know of my wonderful artistry… Now the curtain rises…" numerous other heroes and villains were on his wall of targets. The insane madman hummed with delight as he polished and made his own bullets.

'I am going to be the catalyst that will plunge this world into chaos.' Jhin thought as he turned off his lampshade to rest for the night.

~ End

* * *

A:N/ Yeah... So as you know, Jhin Kanda is a direct character that I've took from the game, League of Legends. He's one of my favorite champions because of his odd psychotic tendency of killing people. Quick background on his character:

His name is Jhin Kanda, he's from Japan (in this story, but in the game he's from Ionia). Anyway, Jhin's character here has been a rampant petty villain back then. I won't spoil what he was doing, but I can tell you right now that in the incoming chapters... He's going to be a hit or miss villain for you guys so there's a fair bit of warning.

Don't forget to favorite and review!


	7. Chapter 7

A:N/ So sorry that it had been a long time since I've updated. I was having terrible writer's block on how the story would progress after my last chapter. Anyway this chapter is shorter than the last few ones. Review the story if you have the time!

* * *

Rogue

* * *

The Golden Demon was on the run after a botched assassination attempt on the weakened All-Might. Jhin ran through the rooftops, avoiding the heroes that are in hot pursuit. He grabbed his gun, Whisper and filled the firearm with four bullets as he was running.

"Let's dance…" the ominous wind kicked in and suddenly, three heroes that were in pursuit were subdued.

"You motherfucker! This is for Best Jeanist!" Katsuki yelled. The young man cock back his fist and punched at Jhin with a tremendous amount of force. Jhin was sent hurtling towards the wall. The Golden Demon fell limp on the ground whilst Katsuki was carefully making his second move.

"Made you look, Hero!" in a split second, Jhin activated some traps that he set up near the area he was on. The traps send a massive smoke explosion, making it the opportune moment for Jhin to slip away from the pursuing heroes.

"Deku! Now!" all of a sudden, the tables were turned once more. As Jhin was escaping towards another building, Izuku immediately tackled the man towards the ground.

"GET OFF OF ME!" yelled Jhin as the two of him and Izuku were falling towards a fifty-foot drop. Rubble was flying all over the place as Katsuki propelled himself towards his falling friend. Using his wits, Jhin had a devious smirk on his face as he saw the advancing Katsuki.

"Now that is what I want to see!" the madman cackled as he challenged the two further. Jhin grabbed his long barrel rifle from the side of his hip holster and aimed the gun towards Katsuki.

"Kacchan! Look out!" in just the nick of time Katsuki changed the trajectory of his course. The recoil from the shot managed to flip over Jhin, causing the man to hit a nearby windowsill and broke into the apartment complex. Izuku was caught by Katsuki in time, but Jhin had slipped through their fingers.

"You alright?" Katsuki asked as he helped up his friend. The pair landed on a nearby rooftop of a building, cushioning their fall at the last second to prevent injuries.

"I think I'm all good… But what do we do about the Golden Demon?" Izuku asked, feeling bothered that they let the villain escape.

"We'll get him next time. For now, we have to report the situation."

It had been a few months since the Golden Demon's assassination attempt on All-Might. Izuku and his friends were discussing a matter of importance in Nighteye's office when they received an unknown letter addressed to them.

"What does it say, sir Nighteye?" Eijiro asked. The three of them in the room felt the uneasiness on the look of Nighteye's face as he was reading through the letter. Mirio and Izuku felt the tension in the air.

Nighteye slammed his hand on the table "This is unacceptable…" he was scrunching up the letter in his hand with anger. The other guys were terrified. It was rare to see their level-headed instructor being angry.

"The project's being cancelled… After the recent bust on protecting key heroes, the higher ups want us gone. They think that the heroes here aren't contributing enough to become a special force."

The air was silent. Reading over the letter for a second time, Izuku and his friends felt discouraged by the lack of faith that they were treated by. No one seemed to believe them. No one in the higher ups considered them as an asset. They were merely liabilities in the eyes of the people in power.

Readjusting his glasses, Nighteye took a deep breath before sag his shoulders down in disappointment. "As of this day, I hereby renounce your special licenses for heroic activity on public streets. It has been an honor serving with you. My apologies for not realizing this sooner…" Mirio was the first one to surrender his badge at his instructor.

The young man put a hand on Nighteye's shoulder to reassure the man "It's alright sir, maybe things would only be temporary. But still, it was a helluva right training with you all." Mirio bowed and exited the room quietly.

Eijiro was the next one to surrender his badge, gripping the piece of metal hard before reluctantly placing in on Nighteye's desk. "We'll always be here to help, sir." Eijiro frowned before saluting. The boy exited the room right after, leaving Izuku and Nighteye to be the last ones at the office.

Izuku fondly skimmed over his shiny badge. He admired the journey he's made so far. For a quirkless person like him to be given a hero's license, it was a good journey. From his early age, he wanted nothing more than to save people. But he couldn't change one fact: He was still quirkless. He could never become the 'real deal' of a hero. He knew that, and it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Nighteye leaned back into his chair and stared out of the window. He took of his glasses and retrieved a small newspaper article that he kept on his desk drawer. After taking it out of the drawer, the man fondly smiled at it before sliding it over to Izuku with a proud smile.

"It was your first deed of valor. I can never thank you enough for your services, Midoriya. It has been an honor training you. I'm damn sure that Takeshi would've been proud to see the man you've become after all this time." Izuku wiped away his tears and surrendered his badge to Nighteye. The young man saluted his instructor before leaving the office.

Left alone to his own devices, Nighteye stared wistfully at the window while the three badges of his most promising students were sitting on his desk. The badges gleamed with pride, a proof of his students' hard work and dedication in becoming a hero for their ambiguous program.

Nighteye stood up and sighed "We're rogues now, Takeshi…" taking his coat from the coat hanger, the instructor got out his own badge and left it on his desk. Without a word, Nighteye left the office after shutting off the light.

* * *

Several men were gathered in a table for an important meeting. Many prominent powerful figures sat next to each other as they were still shaken up by the attempt at All-Might's life. They whispered amongst themselves, carefully planning out their next move against the Golden Demon that almost took the life of the Symbol of Peace.

"Has the letter for the decommissioning of those in the special program been sent?" asked the leader of the higher ups. His secretary then whispered to him, causing quite the stirrup amongst the other members of the board.

"What's this? You haven't told us about this, Mr. Chairman!" a man bellowed with frustration. Many then whispered again before turning towards the chairman for answers.

"We simply do not have the means to continue on supporting an additional branch of prospering heroes. The students of Yuuei and numerous other hero institutions are sufficient enough to provide us with the next generation of heroes." The men were silenced by the chairman's words. No one dared to oppose him, since no one had a contingency plan up their sleeves.

"So what do you propose we do now, Mr. Chairman?" asked one man. The chairman nodded towards his secretary before the room was dimmed for the projection of his presentation to begin.

"Gentlemen… The solution to this predicament is simple." With a snap of his fingers, the next slide of the presentation sent chills down everyone's spine in the room.

"S-Sir… You can't be serious about implementing THIS project!" plenty of protests were filling up the air. No one dared to ever touch again this sensitive project that was kept under wraps after All-For-One's defeat.

"I introduce to you, the next generation of Nomu's! Genetically enhanced versions of the previous creations by All-For-One! Ingrained on the Nomus' brain are computer chips that are designed to control them." It was a sight to behold with the numerous video demonstrations shown before them. Numerous Nomu's were being put into production and being tested in labs.

"Sir… This is madness…" one ma cowered. The Nomu's were originally a weapon of mass destruction made by All-For-One. They were freaks of nature made by splicing the DNA of a cloning quirk along with numerous quirks that All-For-One himself had possessed. They were an unstoppable force of nature that can cause massive destruction on their own.

"We must purge this land of villains and bring absolute justice against those malicious villains." An unsettling feeling of dread circled around the room. The men present were convinced that their chairman had been insane to resort to restarting All-For-One's research.

~ End

* * *

A:N/ It might be jumping the shark a little bit, but I kinda think that Deku and co. going rogue is the best possible solution for this story. I drew inspiration of them going rogue from the A-Team. Similar to Hannibal and his crew's case, Deku and his friends now are going to be rogue soldiers that would still be on the hunt of Jhin whilst trying to avoid the government.

Also! Check out my other story on my other account! 'Advent Children' for BNHA is a story that I've made on my other account that centers around the origins of quirks and whatnot. Please check it out! I need YOUR help to make it noticeable from the amount of traffic in this archive. Thank you again for supporting this story, until the next chapter!


	8. Proto Chapter 8

A:N/ Heya! So... Not a total full update yet, but I'm gonna get here eventually. I just want to announce that this story will now be regularly updated as frequently as I can. I'm in college now so life has been regularly busy, but I will find time and I promise you all that by the end of this year, I will have already finished this story by then.

Btw. I'll be doing a few revisions from older chapters, so be sure to re-read some of it again, I find that some errors I left from back then are still in my story which is why I kinda wanted to update it a bit.

Tell me your thoughts about the story so far, I'll probably be cross-posting this to Archive's of Our Own once I'm finished, I just made a short preview of the new chapter below, so consider this chapter a Proto 8 chapter.

* * *

Re-introduction: The story so far

* * *

A quirkless Izuku Midoriya enlists for the Dark Horse Program led by Takeshi, a man of pride and another quirkless person – also known as the last soldier of the old era of heroics. With the death of Takeshi, the remaining hero hopefuls of the Dark Horse Program are now branded as "Rogues". Tasked with the duty of capturing the Golden Demon Jhin, the hero hopefuls fight the thankless job that is being "SOLDIERS".

Preview chapter 8: SOLDIER

"Embrace your dreams – and whatever happens… Protect your honor as SOLDIER." A battered and beaten Izuku smiled solemnly as he prepares to continue fighting the Nomu's that were broken out by Jhin, causing a huge rampage onto the city.

Plenty of heroes were already pre-occupied, but the Rogues were now the only ones left to protect a remote orphanage miles away from the main city. Izuku had been barely scraping by fighting against a dangerous Nomu by himself as his fellow Rogues were evacuating the children out of the orphanage.

Jhin stared down at the young man from the barrel of his rifle, ready to fire at the boy. His eyes gleamed with fire and brimstone, his raggedy breath a testament of his excitement of the chaos that he had caused for the whole city.

"You're only a shot away from dying, boy. It's best that you savor your last breath of fresh air before the curtain falls!" Jhin fired his last bullet straight towards Izuku who charged forwards Jhin.

"I WILL ALWAYS BE A SOLDIER!" Izuku yelled.

~ To be continued…


End file.
